Locking mechanism for cone crushers and the like



May 19 1964 J.. B. BOND ETAL 3,133,708

LOCKING MECHANISM FOR CCNE CRUSHERS AND THE LIKE Filed Aug. l5, 1961 4SheetS--Shee'rI 1 INVENTORS. E. 50/1/0 May 19, 1964 J. B. BOND .ETAL3,133,708

LOCKING MECHANISM FOR CONE CRUSHERS AND THE LIKE Filed Aug. l5, 1961 4Sheecs-Sheet 2 May 19, 1964 J. B. BOND ETAL 3,133,708

LOCKING MECHANISM FOR GONE CRUSHERS AND THE LIKE Filed Aug. 15, 1961 4Sheets-Sheet 3 MaY`19,-1954 v.1. B. BOND ETAL 3,133,708

LOCKING MECHANISM FOR CONE CRUSHERS AND THE LIKE Filed Aug. 15, 1961 4Sheets-Sheet 4 United States Patent O ?}l33,'70{-5 LUCKNGll/iEtCHANlSh/l FR @UNE CRUSHERS ANB THE Lili' .lack B. Bond, HalesCorners, and Rudolph l'. Gasparac and Hansiiirg Rahner, Milwaulree,lil/is., assignorsto Nordherg Manutacturing Qornpany, Milwaukee, Wis., acorporation ot Wisconsin Filed Aug. l5, 196i, der. No. s319629 19@Claims (Cl. 24h-29d) This invention is in the held of cone Crushers andis concerned with eliminating wear in the threads between the bowl andadjustment ring or trame.

A primary object is to take care of the thread clearance between thebowl and frame of a Crusher thereby eliminating excessive wear.

Another object is to lock the bowl at the same time that threadclearance is eliminated.

Another object is to provide a releasable upthrust to the bowl of a conecrusher.

Another object is a plurality of piston and cylinder assemblies whichare effective to provide a reieasable upthrust to the bowl at allpositions ot bowl adjustment on the Crusher main trame.

Another object is a structure of the type described which has safetymeans to prevent rupture ot the iiuid lines supplying the piston andcylinder assemblies when tramp material or the like passes through thecrushing cavity.

Another object is a readily releasable mechanism tor providing an evenupthrust to the bowl of a Crusher to eliminate thread clearance betweenthe bowl and adjustment ring.

Another object is a clamping means of the type described which isarranged to move the bowl up and down with a minimum of work.

Another object is a kit or attachment unit which may be used to convertconventional cone Crushers to operate as described herein.

Another object is a thread clearance and adjustment unit for a Crusherwhich automatically locks and releases the bowl when the rams areoperated.

Other objects will appear in the ensuing specification, drawings andclaims.

The invention is illustrated diagrammatically in the following drawingswherein:

FlGURE l is a schematic illustration of the fluid supply system usedwith the bowl locking arrangement;

FIGURE. 2 is a partial vertical section through a cone Crusher showingthe locking arrangement;

FIGURE 3 is an enlarged vertical section through one form of piston andcylinder assembly;

FIGURE 4 is an enlarged vertical section, similar to FIGURE 3, showing amodiiied piston and cylinder assembly; and

FIGURE 5 is a partial vertical section through a further modification.

It is conventional in cone Crushers, for example gyratory Crushers, tohave a bowl which forms or denes the upper side ot the crushing cavity,adjustably mounted on the Crusher frame. It is also conventional to havean adjustment ring on the Crusher frame which threadedly mounts the bowlso that the bowl may be rotated and easily moved up and down tocompensate for wear of the bowl liner, usually formed of manganese steelor the like. Because ot the size of Crusher-s of this type it is notpractical to machine or form the threads for the adjustment ring andbowl to a tolerance which eliminates all play or clearance between thethreads. Accordingly, it is desirable and has been the practice tor sometime, to provide a means for applying an upthrust to the bowl so thatthe bowl threads are firmly held against the ad- 3,133,708 Patented May19, 1964 justment ring threads. lt is important to provide such anupthrust which is etective at all positions of bowl adjustment.

Considering FIGURE 2, a Crusher, which may be any type of cone Crusher,and as shown herein is a gyratory Crusher, has a main frame lil with anoutwardly directed flange l2 upon which is mounted an adjustment ring14. A plurality of spring assemblies 16 may be circumferentiallypositioned around the Crusher frame and yieldingly hold the adjustmentring to the frame. It is necessary to yieldingly hold the adjustmentring and bowl to the frame so that when tramp iron, such as dipper teethor the like, passes through the crushing cavity, the bowl can move up topass this material,

The crushing cavity is defined by a head 1S, having a mantle Ztl, and abowl 22 having a bowl liner 24. The bowl is threaded, as at 26, and theadjustment ring le is threaded, as at 28. Rotation of the bowl on thering 14 moves the bowl up and down on the Crusher frame to vary the sizeof the crushing cavity and to compensate for wear of the bowl liner 24and mantle Ztl.

The adjustment ring 14 mounts a rotary cap 29 including an upwardlydirected side wall 3d upon which a cover 32 may be welded or otherwisesecured. The cover 32 may mount a plurality of piston and cylinderassemblies 34 which are shown in detail in FIGURES 3 and 4. inside thewall 39 is an upstanding bar 36 positioned between a pair ot spaced ears31a extending outward from bowl flange 31. The ears 31a and the bar 36provide a lock between the cap 29 and bowl so that they rotate together.

The arrangement disclosed provides an upthrust to the bowl such that theplay or clearance in the threads is always at the bottom of the bowlthreads during crushing and so that the threads are always in rmcontact.

In FIGURE l, each of the assemblies 34, which preferably are generallyequally spaced around the periphery of the Crusher, are connectedtogether by individual hoses or other suitable fluid connections 38. Asshown, the assemblies may be considered to be connected either inparallel or in series. The particular type of iiuid connection is notimportant. The system may be air, hydraulic, or otherwise; however,hydraulic is preferred. A iiuid line at! may run from a control consoleand iluid source il to the group of piston and cylinder assemblies 34. Asuitable coupling 4Z, which is a quick disconnect, may form theconnection between line itl and the hoses 3S. if the unit is hydraulic,the console may be connected to a suitable source ofl power at 43, forexample shop air, with a converter in the console to convert airpressure to hydraulic pressure, or an hydraulic pump. When it is desiredto rotate the bowl on the adjustment ring to compensate for wear in themanganese or bowl liner, the fluid pressure in the cylinders is iirstremoved so that the bowl can be turned. There may be a plurality ofconnections @la spaced around the connection between the piston andcylinder assemblies 34 so that the line it@ can be connected at variouspoints about the crusher.

Also connected to the console 41 are fluid lines 4to' and t8 which inturn branch out to lines 5t), 52, 5d and 56 for connection tohuid-operated rams 58 and 5t). The rams are mounted on the adjustmentring 11i and are effective to rotate the cap 29 and bowl in incrementsby pushing against the toothed ring 62 mounted on the cap 29. The ramsand cylinders for removing thread clearance are shown as part of asingle liuid system, but they may be otherwise. When together, a singleconsole may be used to completely control the operation and adjustmentof the Crusher from a remote location.

FIGURE 3 illustrates the details of one form of pis'- ton and cylinderassembly. A cylinder 64 may be suitably mounted on the cover 32 and mayhave a liuid inlet 65 which is in communication with the interior of thecylinder. The lower end 66 of the cylinder may project into an openingin the top cap 32 and may be provided with suitable seals, as at 67.Mounted for reciprocation within the cylinder is an elongated bolt 68having a slightly enlarged head portion '70. The bolt 68 may besurrounded by a piston rod in the form of a sleeve 72 lwhich has anoutwardly directed flange 74 adjacent the enlarged portion 70. Seatedupon the flange 74 and positioned to bear against the head portion 70 isa spring arrangement 76 which may include a plurality of washer springs.Springs of this type provided a large thrust with only a smalldisplacement. Positioned in the cylindrical chamber or area 71 definedby the sleeve 72 and the cylinder 64 is a piston head 78. The pistonhead 7S is not xed to the piston rod or sleeve and will move freely inthe chamber between the sleeve 72 and the cylinder 64 in accordance withthe fluid pressure in the chamber. This is an advantageous arrangementin that as the bowl and hence the bolt and sleeve move up duringreplacement of the liner or mantle or both, the piston head will notmove up against a vacuum. Port 65 is closed when the bowl is beingturned up and if the piston head moved with the rod, a vacuum would bepulled below it.

The bolt 68 may be suitably connected to the outwardly directed flange31 on the bowl 22. For example, a collar 82 may be mounted on the lowerend 84 of the bolt to bear against a pin or key 8S through the end ofthe rod.

FIGURE 4 shows a modied form of piston and cylinder assembly whichincludes a cylinder 36 in which an elongated piston bolt 88 has anupwardly enlarged portion or head 90. A piston rod or sleeve 92surrounds the bolt and has a flange 94, preferably integral, at itsupper end bearing against the piston rod head 90. A free piston 96having suitable seals may be positioned around the sleeve below theflange.

There may be an inlet port 9S opening into the bottom of the cylinderbelow the free piston and the lower end of the piston may be sealed, asat 109, around the sleeve. By a T connection 102 an accumulator 104 isshown as connected to the inlet port.

In this form, the piston and cylinder assembly is similar to FIGURE 3except that the Belleville or washer springs are not used and anaccumulator is substituted. In the FIGURE 4 form, it will be understoodthat we prefer to have an accumulator connected directly next to each ofthe piston and cylinder assemblies so that the shock produced in thefluid when tramp iron, or other foreign matter, goes through the crusherwill be absorbed almost immediately and directly at each cylinderassembly Without having to pass through any appreciable length of lines,hoses, etc., to get to the accumulator. The greater distance shock wavesmust travel through piping before getting to the accumulator, the lesseffect the accumulator will have due to friction in the piping. We mightalso use one accumulator for two cylinders, but one for each ispreferred.

It should be noted that the piston and cylinder assemblies are quitelong. In order to provide an upthrust in all positions of the bowl onthe adjustment ring, it is necessary to have a piston with sufficientstroke. The bowl 22 will initially be positioned such that its bottomthreads are engaged with the top threads of the adjustment ring. This isthe condition when new manganese steel has been applied to the head andbowl. In the extreme up position, but the piston will be adjacent thetop of the cylinder and will be in the position shown in FIG- URES 3 and4. As the bowl is gradually moved down to compensate for wear in themanganese, the piston will be stationed at gradually lower positionswithin the cylinder. The bowl is in the furthest down position when themanganese liner and mantle are almost worn out.

In FIGURE an alternative is shown in which the adjustment ring 106carries a locking unit, designated generally 1%8. One or more such unitsmay be used. The

locking unit may include a housing 110 supporting a pivoted lever 112carrying a fluid cylinder 114 connected to the hydraulic system at 116.The piston on the cylinder engages a plate 11S in the housing and, whenenergized, pivots the lever out so that its upper end does not lit inone of the notches in the torque ring 129. The lever is biased inwardlyby a suitable spring 122.

When the locking unit is connected into the hydraulic circuit with therams, it will be automatically energized to unlock the bowl when therams are energized. The spring 122 normally keeps the unit locked butwhen supplied with fluid, the piston pivots the lever out, compressesspring 122 and unlocks the bowl.

The use, operation and function of the invention are as follows:

It is necessary in cone Crushers, for example gyratory Crushers, inwhich the bowl is adjustably mounted on the frame, to provide a meansfor holding the bowl in position. In particular, when the bowl isthreaded to an adjustment ring which, in turn, is yieldingly mounted onthe frame, it is necessary to remove the play or clearance between thebowl and the adjustment ring threads. Preferably, this play or clearanceis removed by an upthrust on the bowl which holds it against the bottomof the adjustment ring threads.

It is also desirable to provide a locking arrangement which needs aminimum of manual effort and attention by operating personnel. It ispreferred to have a locking arrangement which can be completelyautomatic. By providing a plurality of piston and cylinder assembliesaround the crusher, it is possible to apply an upthrust to the bowl. Inorder to supply this upthrust at all positions of the bowl, the pistonshould have a stroke slightly more than the liner length.

While we may get suicient additional upthrust from the assemblies 34 toalso lock the bowl against rotation during crushing, in certainapplications we prefer to use just suliicient upthrust to exceed theweight of the bowl assembly with locking being taken care of by aseparate lock. Where a separate lock is used, it may be manuallyoperated or hydraulic. If hydraulic, we prefer to tie it into thehydraulic system so that the lock will automatically be released whenthe rams are energized.

An advantage of the form of piston and cylinder shown in FIGURE 3 isthat the piston head moves freely within the chamber '71. When the port65 is closed during upward rotation of the bowl, the piston rod will bemoving in the cylinder 64. If the piston head were firmly attached tothe piston rod, a vacuum would be created behind the head and it wouldtake additional work to move the piston, and hence the bowl. Byutilizing a free piston head, no vacuum is created, as the piston headremains down until fluid pressure is introduced into the cylinder.

In addition to use on new crushing units, the particular clamping orlocking means disclosed may be attached, in the form of a kit, toexisting machines to convert them to the type of operation described. Asmachinery of this type is quite expensive, a kit arrangement is veryadvantageous. For example, the piston and cylinder assemblies and theVarious hose connections along with the control console may constitute aunit which is sold for attachment to an existing machine. In addition,the fluid or hydraulic rams for incrementally turning the bowl on theadjustment ring may constitute a part of the attachment unit. By usingthe control console shown with both the piston and cylinder assembliesand the rams, movement of the bowl to compensate for wear of the linersand removing thread clearance may all be controlled from a single remoteunit.

Before turning the bowl on the adjustment ring, the upthrust on the bowlis removed. The uid system is then detached at intervals from the pistonand cylinder assemblies to allow the bowl to move freely. In thisconnection, there are a plurality of connecting points for attaching thefluid line 40 to the group of piston and cylinder assemblies. The ramsmay then be operated to incrementally tum the bowl.

When tramp iron passes through the machine, the adjustment ring and bowlwill be tipped up. When the head recesses, bringing the adjustment ringand bowl back down on the frame, they will hit the frame at a highvelocity. With the weight of the bowl and spring thrust behind it, thebowl will continue down through the thread clearance. This additionalmovement, even though small, will force the pistons down sufficiently inthe cylinders to compress the fluid such that quite high pressures canbe developed. This is particularly true when the manganese steel isalmost worn out, since the pistons will be near the bottom and thevolume of fluid available to be compressed will be small. Under theseconditions, the pressures developed can be tremendous.

To prevent these high pressures which will result in a break in thehydraulic line, the springs, such as in FIG- URE 3, will absorb thismovement. The same is true of the accumulators, such as in FIGURE 4.

Whereas the preferred form of the invention has been shown and describedherein, it should be realized that there are many modifications,substitutions and alterations thereto, within the scope of the followingclaims.

We claim:

l. ln a gyratory crusher, a main circumferential frame, an adjustmentring releasably mounted on the main frame, a bowl screw-threaded intothe adjustment ring, a head mounted in the frame for gyratory movementdefining a crushing cavity with the bowl, a release between the mainframe and adjustment ring for allowing the bowl to release whenuncrushable material passes through the crushing cavity, a plurality offluid piston and cylinder assemblies spaced about the bowl and effectivebetween the adjustment ring and bowl to apply an upthrust to the bowl toremove thread clearance between the bowl and adjustment ring, eachpiston having a stroke sufficient to apply an upthrust to the bowl atall positions of adjustment of the bowl, a fluid system for supplyingfluid under pressure to the assemblies, as a group, to provide anupthrust to the bowl, a top cap rotatably mounted on the adjustment ringrising above the bowl, and a key connection between the top cap and bowlsuch that the bowl may move vertically relative to the top cap but isinterlocked rotatably to it, the piston and cylinder assemblies beingmounted on the top cap, the piston rod of each cylinder extending downthrough the top cap and being connected to the bowl.

2. The structure o-f claim 1 further characterized by a plurality offiuid actuated rams mounted on the adjustment ring equidistant from eachother about the main frame and effective to apply a peripheral thrust tothe top cap thereby rotating the top cap, cylinders, and bowl relativeto the adjustment ring.

3. For use with a remotely controlled clamping unit to be applied to acone Crusher having a circumferential main frame with an adjustment ringreleasably mounted on the main frame and a bowl screw-threaded in theadjustment ring with a top cap mounted on the adjustment ring with ahead mounted for gyration in the main frame dening a crushing cavitywith the bowl, the improvement comprising a plurality of piston andcylinder assemblies to be mounted with the cylinder of each assembly onthe top cap and the piston rod extending through the top cap andconnected to the bowl, each of the assemblies having suiiicient strokesuch that, as a group, they will apply an upward thrust to the bowl toremove thread clearance between the bowl and adjustment ring in allpositions of adjustment between and including the highest position ofthe bowl when new manganese steel wearing parts have been applied to thebowl and head and the lowest position of the bowl when the wearing partsrequire replacement, and a fluid control system connected to theassemblies for controlling the supply of iluid under pressure to theassemblies.

4. The structure of claim 3 further characterized by and including atleast two fluid rams adapted to be mounted on the adjustment ring,equally spaced from each other, to apply a peripheral thrust to the topcap thereby rotating the bowl for adjustment.

5. The structure of claim 3 further characterized by and includingyielding means providing a yielding bottoming of each piston with itscylinder.

6. The structure of claim 5 further characterized in that said yieldingmeans includes a liuid accumulator connected to each cylinder.

7. The structure of claim 5 further characterized in that said yieldingmeans includes a plurality of Washerlike springs mounted within eachcylinder and about each piston.

8. The structure of claim 5 further characterized by and including atleast two fiuid operated rams adapted to be mounted on the adjustmentring to apply a peripheral thrust to the top cap, a locking structureadapted to apply a positive lock between the adjustment ring and topcap, and a uid connection between the rams and lock structure such thatwhen the rams are energized the lock structure will release the top cap.

9. In a gyratory Crusher, a main circumferential frame, an adjustmentring releasably mounted on the main frame, a bowl screw-threaded intothe adjustment ring, a head mounted in the frame for gyratory movementdefining a crushing cavity with the bowl, a release between the mainframe and adjustment ring for allowing the bowl to release whenuncrushable material passes through the crushing cavity, a plurality offluid piston and cylinder assemblies spaced about the bowl and effectivebetween the adjustment ring and bowl to apply an upthrust to the bowl toremove thread clearance between the bowl and adjustment ring, eachpiston having a stroke suicient to apply an upthrust to the bowl at allpositions of adjustment of the bowl, a fluid system for supplying fluidunder pressure to the assemblies, as a group, to provide an upthrust tothe bowl, and a compressible element for each piston and cylinderassembly, such that when the bowl returns to crushing position aftertramp iron has passed through the cavity, the compressible elements mayyield to protect the uid system against excessively high pressures.

10. The structure of claim 9 further characterized by and including areleasable connection between the group of assemblies and the source offluid pressure such that when the assemblies are rotated with the bowl,the source of fluid pressure may remain stationary and may bereconnected after an adjustment has been made.

ll. The structure of claim 9 further characterized in that each pistonincludes a piston rod and a piston head freely movable thereon, andfurther characterized in that the compressible element includes a springarrangement positioned between the piston rod and the piston head.

l2. The structure of claim ll further characterized in that the springarrangement includes a plurality of washer springs positioned betweenthe piston rod and piston head.

13. The structure of claim 9 further characterized by and including anaccumulator directly adjacent and in communication with the inside ofeach cylinder so that a minimum of resistance is offered to the ow ofpressure waves from the cylinder to the accumulator.

14. The structure of claim 9 further characterized in that each of saidpistons includes a piston rod having an enlarged upper portion whichloosely mounts a piston head, the piston rod and piston head beingreciprocal together within the cylinder.

l5. ln a system of bowl adjustment for a crusher and the like, a mainframe, a bowl mounted on the main frame for rotary adjustment relativethereto, and means for rotating the bowl relative to the main frame toeffect adjustment thereof, including at least one fluid operated ramadapted to apply a tangential thrust to the bowl to rotate it relativeto the main frame, a iluid control system connected to the ram forcontrolling the supply of iluid thereto, a locking structure adapted toapply a positive lock between the bowl and main frame, and means forautomatically releasing the lock structure when the ram is energized sothat the bowl is automatically released to be rotated for adjustment bythe ram.

16. The structure of claim 15 further characterized by and including aplurality of fluid piston and cylinder assemblies spaced about the bowland elective between the bowl and main frame to apply an upthrust to thebowl to remove thread clearance, and a iluid connection between thepiston and cylinder assemblies connected to the lluid control systemsuch that when the control system energizes the ram, the piston andcylinder assemblies will be released so that the upthrust will beremoved from the bowl.

17. The structure of claim 16 further characterized by and including acompressible element for each piston and cylinder assembly such thatwhen the bowl returns to crushing position after tramp iron has passedthrough the machine, the compressible elements may yield to protect thecontrol system against excessively high pressures.

18. The structure of claim 17 further characterized in that thecompressible elements include a plurality of washer springs in each ofthe piston and cylinder assemblies.

19. In a gyratory crusher, a main circumferential frame, an adjustmentring releasably mounted on the main frame, a bowl screw-threaded intothe adjustment ring,

a head mounted in the frame for gyratory movement defining a crushingcavity with the bowl, a release between the main frame and adjustmentring for allowing the bowl to release when uncrushable material passesthrough the crushing cavity, a top enclosure connected to the bowl to berotated therewith, a plurality of piston and cylinder assemblies mountedon the top enclosure, the cylinder of each assembly being mounted on thetop enclosure and the piston rod extending through the top enclosure andbeing connected to the bowl, each of the assemblies having sufficientstroke such that, as a group, they will apply an upward thrust to thebowl to remove thread clearance between the bowl and adjustment ring inall positions of adjustment between and including the highest positionof the bowl when new manganese stcel wearing parts have been applied tothe bowl and head and the lowest position of the bowl when the wearingparts require replacement, and a lluid control system connected to theassemblies for controlling the supply of fluid under pressure to theassemblies.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS2,359,987 Gruender Oct. 10, 1944 2,553,988 Stevens May 22, 19512,687,257 Rumpel Aug. 24, 1954 2,747,804 Rumpel May 29, 1956 3,009,660Symons Nov. 21, 1961 FOREIGN PATENTS 1,156,382 France Dec. 16, 1957

1. IN A GYRATORY CRUSHER, A MAIN CIRCUMFERENTIAL FRAME, AN ADJUSTMENTRING RELEASABLY MOUNTED ON THE MAIN FRAME, A BOWL SCREW-THREADED INTOTHE ADJUSTMENT RING, A HEAD MOUNTED IN THE FRAME FOR GYRATORY MOVEMENTDEFINING A CRUSHING CAVITY WITH THE BOWL, A RELEASE BETWEEN THE MAINFRAME AND ADJUSTMENT RING FOR ALLOWING THE BOWL TO RELEASE WHENUNCRUSHABLE MATERIAL PASSES THROUGH THE CRUSHING CAVITY, A PLURALITY OFFLUID PISTON AND CYLINDER ASSEMBLIES SPACED ABOUT THE BOWL AND EFFECTIVEBETWEEN THE ADJUSTMENT RING AND BOWL TO APPLY AN UPTHRUST TO THE BOWL TOREMOVE THREAD CLEARANCE BETWEEN THE BOWL AND ADJUSTMENT RING, EACHPISTON HAVING A STROKE SUFFICIENT TO APPLY AN UPTHRUST TO THE BOWL ATALL POSITIONS OF ADJUSTMENT OF THE BOWL, A FLUID SYSTEM FOR SUPPLYINGFLUID UNDER PRESSURE TO THE ASSEMBLIES, AS A GROUP, TO PROVIDE ANUPTHRUST TO THE BOWL, A TOP CAP ROTATABLY MOUNTED ON THE ADJUSTMENT RINGRISING ABOVE THE BOWL, AND A KEY CONNECTION BETWEEN THE TOP CAP AND BOWLSUCH THAT THE BOWL MAY MOVE VERTICALLY RELATIVE TO THE TOP CAP BUT ISINTERLOCKED ROTATABLY TO IT, THE PISTON AND CYLINDER ASSEMBLIES BEINGMOUNTED ON THE TOP CAP, THE PISTON ROD OF EACH CYLINDER EXTENDING DOWNTHROUGH THE TOP CAP AND BEING CONNECTED TO THE BOWL.